CPM hears echo in Tata remark

Calcutta, Dec. 17: The CPM today found vindication of the party’s stand in Ratan Tata’s remark of keeping Singur as a possible investment destination for their group .

“We have been saying that the Singur land return issue is in court and nobody can claim to return the plots to unwilling landlosers now. Yesterday, Ratan Tata said as much. He said that the Tata factory is in Singur until the court decides otherwise. So, our party stands vindicated,’’ a CPM state committee member said.

The Singur issue and Tata’s remarks yesterday were discussed by the party leadership at a two-day CPM state committee meeting that began at Alimuddin Street today.

Yesterday, Tata had referred to the possibility of keeping Singur in the group’s picture.

“Need not be Tata Motors. We have until the court decides this, the plant is still there. Whether it is Tata Motors or something else,’’ PTI quoted Tata as saying.

The CPM state committee member said: “Our leadership has asked district party units to cash in on what Tata said. The idea is to expose Mamata Banerjee… to convince people that her assurance to give back land is nothing but a hoax.’’

The Singur land case is pending in the Supreme Court after a division bench of Calcutta High Court ruled that the Mamata Banerjee government’s legislation to return plots to unwilling landlosers was “unconstitutional’’.

Today, leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said Tata’s remark on Singur was an indication of the group’s interest in doing something there but the Trinamul government had lost the opportunity to capitalise on that.

“When Tata says that some other company of the group may invest in Singur, he is basically giving a positive signal to the government. But this government has lost the opportunity to capitalise on that because of its faulty policies. Who will come to Bengal where a general manager (in Durgapur) gets beaten up by Trinamul activists?’’ Mishra said.